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The Importance of Argument in Reading Instruction · The Reading Instruction Show

• 0:01
  Greetings, this is Andy Johnson. Topic of today's
• 0:05
  presentation is the importance of arguments.
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  Arguments are not bad things. Arguments are good
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  things. In fact, they are essential things. Now,
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  an argument in an academic setting is not two
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  people yelling at each other. An argument in
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  this setting is the process of engagement. where
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  you put forth a proposition and support it using
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  reason, evidence, and analysis while another
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  listens. And when you're finished propositioning
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  and supporting, the other puts forth a counterargument
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  while you listen. Focusing only on the initial
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  proposition, this process continues until one
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  of five things occur. One, you persuade the other
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  or others of the correctness of your proposition.
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  Two, you get persuaded of the wrongness of your
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  proposition. Three, you find areas of agreement
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  and compromise. Four, you have a better understanding
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  of the other but recognize that differences are
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  irreconcilable. or five, one of you gets mad
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  and leaves in a huff. Now, the argumentative
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  process, argumentation process is the foundation
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  of academic discourse within the academy. It's
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  worked for centuries, enabling our various academic
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  fields to continually evolve. These arguments
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  usually take place in academic journals, academic
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  conferences, and various other academic presentations.
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  Yeah, you say, but we're not in an academic setting,
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  you liberal egghead. Yes, this is a well -stated
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  proposition with which I agree. We are not in
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  an academic setting. However, in a non -academic
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  setting, constructive argumentation is still
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  the best way to move the conversation forward.
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  Here, propositions are still made and supported
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  using reason, evidence, and analysis. In fact,
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  the white men in tight pants who designed our
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  democracy 250 years ago also believed the argumentative
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  process to be so important that they built it
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  into our form of governments. Today we have courts
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  and legislative bodies where arguments are heard,
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  propositions are supported, and decisions are
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  made. So the importance of argument, as stated
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  previously, the argumentative process promotes
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  change, growth, and evolution. Argument invites
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  us to revisit and review our view on things.
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  And then we either reify or revise our thinking.
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  Now, changes in thinking don't indicate a flip
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  -flopper or a spineless fraud. It doesn't mean
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  that a person lacks strong conviction about things.
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  It means that the person is alive. And things
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  that are alive change and grow when they encounter
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  new information or have new experiences. Things
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  that are dead stay the same and eventually wither
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  away. It's the ability to change and grow in
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  our thinking that has been hardwired into our
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  species. It's what enabled our ancestors to leave
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  the trees and evolve on the plains of the savannas
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  millions of years ago. Yet some would prefer
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  to stay in the trees teaching children to sound
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  out words instead of teaching them to read. They
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  see and hear only what they understand and information
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  or experiences that differ. from the current
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  ways of thinking are discarded or explained away.
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  They wave their arms in screech and anger when
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  they encounter words like balanced literacy or
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  three -queueing. They live in clans of like -thinking
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  individuals. And this has resulted in cognitive
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  inbreeding and all sorts of wacky mutations such
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  as letters, professional development. There will
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  be no dissent. While essential for a healthy
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  functioning democracy, autocracies have never
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  been comfortable with arguments. Arguments to
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  get people believe in the wrong sorts of things,
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  they say. There'd be chaos if people were allowed
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  to go around believing whatever they want, they
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  say. And besides, arguments are not needed if
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  you are right about everything, they say. And
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  I'll point out here that Donald Trump has insisted
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  that he's been right about everything. Throughout
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  the centuries, the more powerful have always
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  tried to quash the arguments made by the less
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  powerful. They believe that people won't start
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  believing the wrong sorts of things if they can't
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  hear the arguments. So they quash them. Governments,
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  political movements, and even religions have
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  stayed in power far longer than they should have
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  by eliminating the argumentative process. And
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  it's worth noting that Trump's FCC and Justice
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  Department have done all sorts of things to eliminate
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  the argument. These actions represent the very
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  worst unpatriotic, un -American impulses. So
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  what are we talking about here, you ask? Religion,
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  politics, or reading instruction? To which I
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  say, yes. But the book I'm working on is about
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  the science of reading, so I'll be putting this
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  in the context of reading instruction.